Fires Set At Lumber Mill

(NANAIMO, BC) – RCMP are investigating two suspicious fires set at woodpiles at the Harmac Pulp Mill in the past two weeks .

The first fire was reported on Friday June 10th at 8:30 PM at the Harmac land fill. A pile of old wood had been stacked then lit on fire. City of Nanaimo Fire and Rescue crews along with crews from Harmac attended and extinguished the blaze.. Investigators believe the fire would have been started sometime between 12 PM and 3 PM.

The next fire was reported yesterday Wednesday June 22 at 12 PM. Again it was in the same area and this time involved old wood stumps being stacked then lit on fire. This time three large piles approximately 15 feet high and ten feet in diameter were stacked then set ablaze. Fire crews were on scene to the early evening before the fire was declared out.

“These fires were deliberately set. The potential for them to spread and cause secondary damage to nearby areas was extremely high,”said Constable Gary O’Brien, media spokesperson for the Nanaimo RCMP .

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